Madam, Please Behave-Chapter 287: Liu Xiazhi’s Thoughts

Early the next morning.

Liu Xiazhi woke up even before the alarm went off.

At first, she lay there groggy, staring at the ceiling as if she hadn’t really woken up yet. With her mouth wide open, she let out a big yawn. Then she tilted her head and glanced at the alarm clock beside her.

6:04.

There were still 26 minutes before the alarm was set to ring.

She reached out to switch the alarm off, then forced herself to sit up in bed. Stretching her arms high in a long stretch, she yawned again.

Time to get up.

Liu Xiazhi started going through her usual morning routine.

Just as she pushed open her bedroom door and turned her head, she saw her dad wiping his head with a towel.

Seeing his daughter already awake caught Liu Changqing a bit off guard. He paused mid-wipe and asked in surprise,

“That's odd… No one woke you up today. Why are you up on your own?”

“Mm… I couldn’t sleep…”

“Well, go brush your teeth and wash your face. Breakfast is almost ready.”

Liu Changqing replied as he took the towel he had just used on his hair and headed into the bathroom to put it back. Then he came out, pushed open his bedroom door, and went inside.

Probably going to wake up Aunt An for breakfast…

Liu Xiazhi guessed.

She stood there for a moment, staring in the direction of her dad’s room. Then she snapped out of it and started walking toward the bathroom.

As soon as she entered, she spotted her big brother.

He was using a towel to dry off his upper body, wearing only a pair of pants.

Liu Xiazhi was used to this scene by now and didn’t pay him any special attention. It was routine—every morning, her brother and dad would go for a run and then take a shower afterward.

She shifted her gaze away.

Moving on autopilot, Liu Xiazhi grabbed her cup, filled it with water, set it on the edge of the sink, picked up her toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste on, dipped the brush into the water, and shoved it into her mouth.

Scrub scrub scrub—she brushed roughly.

Liu Zhiyue noticed her rather aggressive brushing style. He wiped himself off while casting a strange look her way.

Then he asked,

“Brushing like that… doesn’t it make your gums bleed?”

“……”

With her mouth full of foam, Liu Xiazhi didn’t answer. She just glanced at Liu Zhiyue through the mirror.

Her reaction confused Liu Zhiyue. After drying himself off, he put the towel back in its usual spot and walked toward the door.

As he left, he gave one last look at his sister, who was still brushing furiously.

Liu Xiazhi caught that look, and her expression turned stubborn. She started brushing even harder, like she was trying to prove a point.

In her head, she grumbled—

Stupid brother!

She didn’t really hate Liu Zhiyue. It was just that last night, when he got back, he suddenly started calling An Yuanyao “Mom.” That stung a little. After all, Liu Xiazhi had still been calling her “Aunt An.”

She was kind of jealous of her brother for jumping ahead like that.

But when it came time to say “Mom” herself, the word just wouldn’t come out.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like An Yuanyao—far from it.

She really did like her. That wasn’t even a question.

But liking someone and being able to call them “Mom” were two totally different things!

And her brother hadn’t even talked to her about it—he just came home and started calling her “Mom” out of nowhere. That made Liu Xiazhi a little bitter.

She started to think that, at this rate, all the love and attention from Aunt An and Dad would end up going more to her brother.

She rinsed her mouth vigorously and spat all the foam out. Then she turned on the tap, cupped some water in her hands, and splashed it roughly on her face.

She was going to call An Yuanyao “Mom” too!

“I’m heading to school now.”

Liu Zhiyue was the first one to finish breakfast. After saying that, he got up and started putting on his shoes.

An Yuanyao, who was in the middle of sipping her porridge, froze when she heard him. She immediately stood up and called out to him.

“Zhiyue, wait a second!”

Hearing her voice, Liu Zhiyue stopped just as he was about to walk out the door. He turned to see An Yuanyao heading back into her room. When she came out again, she had a bag in her hand.

She walked over and handed it to him.

“Take this with you too. I packed some for Zhou Shiyan as well. You two can have a little snack after lunch. If there’s extra, share it with your classmates.”

Liu Zhiyue didn’t refuse. He blinked in slight surprise, then reached out to take it. Glancing around the room with a smile, he said,

“Okay, I’m heading out then.”

With that, he opened the door and left.

An Yuanyao followed to the doorway, watching his figure as he walked down the stairs. Only after he disappeared from sight did she gently close the door and return to her seat.

A big smile lingered on her face, like she still couldn’t get over the surprise of Liu Zhiyue calling her “Mom.”

Liu Changqing swallowed his food, glanced at her beaming expression, and after a short pause, joked,

“Miss An, did something make you super happy today? Come on, share the joy.”

“Of course not!”

An Yuanyao laughed, hearing the teasing in his voice. She picked up an egg from the table, peeled it, and held it out toward Liu Xiazhi, who was sitting across from her.

“Xiazhi, eat an egg every day—it’ll help you grow taller!”

“……”

Liu Xiazhi didn’t respond.

She just bit the thick straw in her mouth, eyes locked on the egg being handed to her.

Suddenly, she looked up at An Yuanyao with her mouth half open.

“Ah… Ma… Ah…”

The sounds coming out of her mouth were incomprehensible, like she’d suddenly forgotten how to talk. After a few awkward “Ah Ma” attempts, she shut her mouth.

Then she quickly reached out, took the egg, and started chomping it down in big bites. It was gone in just a few mouthfuls.

She chewed furiously.

An Yuanyao stared in shock, not sure what had just happened.

Liu Changqing looked at his daughter’s bulging cheeks with a faint, amused smile.

After gulping down her food, Liu Xiazhi slurped the last of the pumpkin porridge from her plastic cup, then slammed the empty cup on the table.

“I’m done eating.”

Then she darted into her room and waited for school time.

Liu Changqing and An Yuanyao had watched the whole thing unfold.

An Yuanyao’s eyes lingered on the closed door to Liu Xiazhi’s room. Her gaze dimmed a little. She murmured, almost to herself,

“Does Xiazhi… not like me anymore?”

“That’s not it. That kid just likes to act all stubborn.”

Liu Changqing responded calmly. He placed his squashed plastic cup on the table and continued,

“You should know, she didn’t even call me ‘Dad’ for the longest time. Took her months to finally say it.”

“Really…”

Hearing that only made An Yuanyao feel even more deflated.

Even her biological father had to wait several months—how could she possibly expect anything more?